Ibrahima Konaté is a free-speaking citizen. We had already noticed this at a press conference with the Blues. Last June, on the eve of the first round of the early legislative elections, the Liverpool defender had these very personal words: “France is a magnificent country. Now, some are at home and only have the news channels to get information. I can't blame them. (…) But we have to go out and meet people. Beyond appearances and skin colors, there are hearts. »
The 25-year-old Franco-Malian is particularly keen on this theme, according to an interview published this week in So Foot magazine. He mentions problems of racial discrimination, concerning him, but not only.
“Playing for the French team does not prevent me from experiencing a few more misadventures. At the airport, for example, when I return to Liverpool, I take my business ticket to be in front and get through faster. When I arrive at Charles-de-Gaulle, the person hasn't even seen my ticket yet and directs me to the other line. What's the message behind that? A person like me has no place in business. »
It doesn't stop there. Ibrahima Konaté recalls a similar anecdote told to him by his Reds colleague Mohamed Salah, a true world football star of Egyptian origin. “One day, he came to Paris, and at the airport, people didn't know who he was,” reveals “Ibou” “In a store, the employees spoke to him in a… let's say discriminating tone. »
Ibrahima Konaté has taken on a new dimension in the French team in recent weeks. In the absence of Kylian Mbappé, he was one of the men chosen by Didier Deschamps to wear the armband. It was November 17 during the success in Italy (1-3).
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